Fosbury Flop is a high jump technique discovered by Dick Fosbury. As it changed the high jump forever, later on, it also became a mental model to always look for improvements in business and life.
“We’ve always done it this way.”
How many times have you got this answer when you ask “why?”
I bet a lot.
Dick Fosbury heard the same answer too when he started competing in the high jump. Up to that point, all the athletes were jumping with their faces toward the bar.
In the beginning, Dick wasn’t a successful athlete.
But he was thinking: Why is everybody jumping with that style? What if there is a better way to jump higher?
One day, he had his Eureka moment.
Instead of jumping his face towards the bar, he was going to jump his back towards the bar. That way, he was able to lower his center of mass; which allowed him to jump much higher than the usual techniques.
After mastering his technique, he earned a ticket to represent the United States in the Olympics.
And in the 1968 Olympics, he shocked the world with his new style, winning the Golden Medal with an Olympic record.
After the 1968 Olympics, the technique was named Fosbury Flop and all the athletes started using it. Even today, it is still the default style used in the high jump.
So by questioning the existing methods and looking for a better way, Dick Fosbury managed to get to the top and changed his sport forever.
There are many Fosbury Flop examples in life.
Steve Jobs was looking for a better smartphone. His Fosbury Flop was iPhone.
Elon Musk was trying to find a better way to send rockets to space. His Fosbury Flop was Space X.
What can be yours?
Ask yourself:
Imagine all the things you’ve learned. From your family, from school, from society…
The things that everybody does the same.
The “default” settings in your life, business, or workplace.
What if there is a better way?
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Recommendations:
Video: How One Man Changed the High Jump Forever | The Olympics on the Record (4 minutes)
Video: Steve Ballmer (Microsoft CEO at that time) laughs at the iPhone announcement (2 minutes). I’m adding this to show how Fosbury Flops are considered “crazy” in the beginning by other people.